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Wednesday, August 07, 2013

Charter Schools and Money

Update: when pondering this question of charter schools and money, I recalled the wording about charter schools and district levies. Now we all know that charters, whether new or conversion, may access levy dollars, whether capital or operations.

That likely extends to the Families & Education levy. I have asked the City about this and yes, they are taking it up with the City Attorney. My reading of the law (and Eric if you are out there, chime in) is yes. Problem is the City does not give money via F&E levy. (The district doesn't but it is somewhat easier to figure out a charter share.) The City provides services so I guess the City could decide which services to give to a charter but it cuts up that piece of pie even more.

End of update.

The question gets asked, all the time, and especially now that we all know that under 1240, a private school can open/change to become a charter school.

The question is - can a private school operate on the same funds as a public school?

They can certainly try; they don't have to. They can go after private money or grants, just like the school districts they sit in.

But here's a great example of a charter school in California that loves parents...and wants parents to show the love back. The school relies on 20% of its budget coming from family contributions alone. Their "Parental Commitment to Excellence" page at Pacific Collegiate School:

Parents are a vital part of the team at PCS. You play an essential
role in both individual student success and overall school support.
This is as true today as it was when the school was founded. PCS needs
you!

Our Board, administration, faculty and staff strive for excellence in
all that we do to serve our students and represent the school. We
embrace our role as partners and strive for excellence and collaboration
in all that we do.

We ask that you partner with us and make a commitment to excellence on behalf of our family and student in the following ways:

I understand that PCS is a charter school and is dependent upon
donations to bridge the gap between state funding and the actual cost
of providing my student(s) with an education of this caliber. I
acknowledge that each family is asked to donate $3,000 per student and
100% family participation is the goal of the Annual Fund Drive.

I will stay informed using the school website, reading
school-related emails and checking PowerSchool on a regular basis.

I will communicate with my student’s teachers in a way consistent
with the protocol I receive from them at Back to School Night.

I will fulfill the annual minimum of 40-hour parent volunteer
requirement for my family. I will register and report these
activities and hours on the PCS website at the Volunteer Central
Tracking System.

I will attend at least one Campus Work Day to help care for our
school as part of my 40 hours of volunteer service. (Work days
are on Saturdays).

I will attend at least one Board Meeting during the school year.

You then have to complete a form for them. It's unclear if this form, once filled out, is a promise or just an acknowledgement that the parent read it. Of course, it is not legally binding BUT I'll bet they get rid of any student whose parent slacks off.

Also, to get into the lottery for this school you have to submit their enrollment form AND attend an information night. This would probably be allowed under 1240.

Your child also has to maintain a C average to be promoted or not have to repeat a course.

10 comments:

Anonymous
said...

It's located in Santa Cruz, CA. The demographic data show that it's around 75% white, and 85% of parents have a bachelor's or advanced degree. About 40% of the students are out-of-district. Interesting example.

I have friends whose kids attend the Waldorf charter school in CA. Compared to paying tuition like they did in Seattle, they are happy to donate money to their new school and donate time. This was a family that received financial aid to attend the private school in Seattle. Even with donating in CA, the charter school is still less expensive.

Not that Seattle Schools offers a suitable alternative to a private Waldorf school, but if every family of means had to pony up with $3-5K to contribute to their public school wouldn't a difference that make in what schools can offer as well? It fits with the conversation threads around here about PTA fundraising, district policies around how school donations can be spent, alternative/option schools and choice within the district, and our State's history of underfunding education.CHM

One, this charter can't operate on state money or even added dollars from grants, etc. So they have to ask the parents for money. (And many parents in SPS PTAs give a lot of money and time; these are just people with more money to give.)

Second, the charter's ability to do this. I thought it was supposed to be a level-playing field and that a charter was just like a public school except for freedom and autonomy.

I think that "freedom" allows them to do things that public schools cannot.

I don't think that I-1240 would allow a charter school to demand contributions of cash or time from student families.

The law does not, however, preclude charter schools from expelling students for any reason, which theoretically could include failure to contribute. It would be up to the charter school authorizer to police that. But the charter school authorizer wouldn't be policing that unless they chose to do so. Given the public concen over charter schools pushing out students, I would expect it is an area of attention for the authorizers. At least I would hope that it is.

I think it would be very hard for the charter to either force parents to donate or to expel a student explicitly for not paying tuition. I-1240 is pretty clear that the charters may not charge tuition. They certainly may ask for donations (even in overbearing terms) and make students uncomfortable enough to leave or expel them for other (perhaps manufactured) grounds. Having the finance specialist calling you every two weeks asking for your donation and telling you that if you don't contribute, you might not belong at the school would certainly have a bearing on whether you stayed.

On the F&L levy, I'd have to look back at the initiative text. My recollection is that charters get a piece of the school levies, operating and capital. Whether that extends to the F&L levy is unclear, and may also depend on the wording of the F&L levy. If F&L says that it is for public schools, I-1240 defines charters as public schools*, so it would be hard to argue that they shouldn't get a piece of that. I don't think they could demand money if F&L doesn't give cash to schools, but they could certainly demand services that F&L provides to other schools.

Future F&L levies could potentially be written narrowly to support only Seattle Public Schools and not charters, but that would likely invite a legal challenge from charters or their supporters who want a piece of the money/services. It also would be tough to defend morally if the courts have decided that charters are in fact public schools*. I can't see how you would say that one group of public school students should get support, while another shouldn't.

* Whether charters are public schools is the big bone of contention in the lawsuit against them. That's the key to this argument as well as whether charters exist at all.

Charlie, no, you can't "demand" but if you check this the wording on the parent form at this particular school, it's pretty clear that's an expectation. It is legal to "ask" for this under 1240. You can't enforce it but that it is this strongly worded speaks to what some charters want from parents in their school.

Eric, it says any "local levy" and that's what gave me pause. I'll let you know what the City says.

It does look like it will depend on how the City decides to define "public school." The levy funding process indicates that funds can go to "Seattle Public Schools" and certain "Community-Based Organizations."

My understanding is that just being a public school doesn't guarantee access to funds though, the money is supposed to go to schools with more need. So there is clearly a mechanism to turn down requests. Criteria seem to be " Organizations are evaluated in three areas: 1) key people, 2) previous experience, and 3) ability to use data to track success..."

So "previous experience" might preclude grants to charters for awhile.

How does this differ from our immersion schools and their fundraising goals? I'd like to know if this charter can actually refuse to re-enroll children the next year if their families did not meet their commitments.

Lake Washington School District has choice schools that require a specific number of volunteer hours. (Their Community School requires 100 hours per family each year.) They have required dues too (only $200 per year though.)

These are requests we might not like to see charters make - but I don't know how much we can complain if our public schools are already doing it.

Lynn, well, I read the McDonald plea for money and yes, it sounded a lot like this.

However, charters can make up any reason they like to exit a child. They might not say, "You didn't give the money we need" but they can say "we need more parent participation from you and you are not meeting our standards."

No PTA or regular public school can do that.

Lynn, I cannot believe any public school can "require" volunteer hours or "dues". I saw the "dues" page and it says "voluntary".

It's all in the high-pressure wording but charters can exact a penalty that no regular public schools can.

Education Acroynms

Advanced Learning - SPS' three-tier program for advanced learners. Made up of APP, Spectrum and ALOs. (Note: the name of the district program is "Advanced Learning Services and Programs" but these three programs fall under "Highly Capable Services" of AL Services and Programs.

ALO - Advanced Learning Opportunity, the third tier of SPS' Advanced Learning program

AP - Advanced Placement. A national program of college-level classes given in high schools.

APP - Accelerated Progress Program. One of the levels of the Advanced Learning Program. NOTE: the name of this program is now "HIGHLY CAPABLE COHORT." This change occurred in 2014.

ASB - Associated Student Body. High school leadership groups.

AYP - Adequate Yearly Progress. Part of NCLB.

BEX - Building Excellence. SPS' capital renovation/rebuilding program that is funded via the BEX levy. Every 3 years there is the Operations levy and either the BEX or BTA levies as those two levies rotate in six year cycles).

BLT - Building Leadership Team. Staff members at a school who meet regularly to discuss building issues.

BTA - Buildings, Technology, Academics. The major maintenance/other capital fund for SPS. Originally BTA was to cover major maintenance like HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), roofs, waterlines, etc.) but now covers wide swaths of items like athletic fields, technology and funding academic needs.

CAICEE - Community Advisory Committee for Investing in Educational Excellence. Created by former Superintendent Manhas in 2008, to issue a report about reform recommendations for SPS.

CSIP - Continuous School Improvement Plan, the plan for improvement for each school as required by state law.

EOC - End of Course Assessments, given in math and science, required for high school graduationESEA - Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the federal law that governs education, includes the NCLB accountability provisions.

e-STEM or e-STEAM - STEM or STEAM curriculum with an environmental focus.

FACMAC - Facilities and Capacity Management Advisory Committee. A district committee comprises of an all-volunteer citizen group created in 2012 to help bring research and ideas to capacity management issues in the district.

FERPA - Family Education Rights and Privacy Act. A federal law that protects students' privacy

FRL - Free and reduced lunch.

FTE - Full Time Equivalent

FY - Fiscal Year

Highly Capable Services - NEW name (as of 2014) as umbrella name for these programs: Highly Capable Cohort (formerly APP), Spectrum and ALO (Advanced Learning Opportunities).

HSPE - High School Proficiency Exam, state assessment that replaced the WASL for 10th graders, required for graduation

HQT - Highly Qualified Teacher, a standard set by federal law

IA - Instructional Assistant

IB - International Baccalaureate program. An international program of advanced classes that can either be taken as stand alone or as part of an overall IB program.

IDEA - Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The federal law that governs special education

MAP - Measures of Academic Progress. A computer-based adaptive assessment made by NWEA and originally purchased by the district for use as a district-wide formative assessment but now used for a wide variety of purposes.

MSP - Measurement of Student Progress, the state proficiency assessment that replaced the WASL for students in grades 1-8

MTSS - Multi-Tiered Systems of Support

NCLB - No Child Left Behind, a provision of the federal education law, ESEA, introduced during the George W. Bush administration